12/16/2010
Citizens Bank Foundation grants $71,000 to homeless shelters across New Hampshire
Manchester, N.H. (December 16, 2010) - As temperatures plummet and homeless shelters prepare for the winter season, the Citizens Bank Foundation has announced it is providing $71,000 in contributions to 19 homeless shelters across New Hampshire. The grants will assist the shelters by providing funding to help defray heating costs, meet the increased demand for services during winter months and provide support services that help shelter guests transition to permanent housing.
“Citizens Bank is an active and concerned member of the communities we serve,” said Cathleen A. Schmidt, President, Citizens Bank, New Hampshire. “We recognize the challenges these shelters face and hope these grants will help to provide safe and welcoming alternatives to those people in our communities who are in need.”
According to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, close to 5,000 individuals stayed at state-sponsored homeless shelters in fiscal year 2009. In addition, the length of time that individuals stayed in state-sponsored shelters increased 60 percent over the last decade and now averages 50 days.
“In the winter months, we serve an average of 80 clients in our shelter every night,” said Kevin Kintner, Interim Executive Director of New Horizons for New Hampshire. “With support from Citizens Bank Foundation, our evening intake manager will expedite a customized plan to assist with housing, employment or health services on the very first evening that an individual turns to us for help, which ultimately will decrease the length of stay at the shelter for homeless individuals.”
“We expect to shelter 500 people next year. Among them will be nearly 40 families with 70 children,” said Chris Sterndale, Executive Director of Cross Roads House. “Families need more than a safe place to stay – support and guidance from case managers can help break the cycle of homelessness. Support from the Citizens Bank Foundation will provide for both the immediate need of a warm place for our clients to stay and the ongoing personal support that is essential to help families move back to homes of their own.”
The homeless shelters in New Hampshire that will receive these 2010 grants from the Citizens Bank Foundation are:
Belknap-Merrimack CAP, Concord ($3,000)
Bridge House, Plymouth ($3,000)
Bridges, Nashua ($2,500)
Cross Roads House, Portsmouth ($8,000)
Friend’s Emergency Housing Program, Concord ($3,500)
Greater Nashua Interfaith Hospitality Network, Nashua ($2,500)
Greater Nashua Council on Alcoholism, Nashua ($3,000)
Harbor Homes, Nashua ($3,000)
Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention, Keene ($2,500)
Nashua Soup Kitchen, Nashua ($5,000)
New Beginnings, Laconia ($2,500)
New Generations, Greenland ($2,500)
New Horizons for NH, Manchester ($8,000)
Seacoast Family Promise, Stratham ($1,500)
Southwestern Community Services, Keene ($8,000)
The Way Home, Manchester ($5,000)
Turning Points Network, Claremont ($2,500)
Voice Against Violence, Plymouth ($2,500)
Women’s Information Services, Lebanon ($2,500)
About the Citizens Bank Foundation
Citizens Bank Foundation is a subsidiary of the Citizens Charitable Foundation, which is a charitable contributions vehicle of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., RBS Citizens, N.A. and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. The foundation’s support is focused on housing, community development and basic human needs
